The ninth son of Abahai (1592–1643), the great ruler of the Manchu kingdom of Manchuria, Fulin succeeded to the throne in 1643 at the age of five (six by Chinese reckoning) and ruled under the regency of Dorgon (1612–50), a paternal uncle. In 1644, Manchu troops under Dorgon’s command captured Beijing, the former capital of the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), and the young ruler was proclaimed emperor of the Qing dynasty with the reign title of Shunzhi. Dorgon continued to exercise absolute authority, however, until his death in 1650. By this time, the conquest of North China had been completed, and in 1659 Shunzhi’s armies drove the last Ming remnants from South China, leaving Ming supporters occupying only the island of Taiwan.

Shunzhi was close to the German Jesuit missionary Adam Schall von Bell (Chinese name Tang Ruowang), whom he called mafa (“grandfather”). The emperor frequently sought Schall’s counsel, and he gave Schall permission to build a Roman Catholic church in Beijing, occasionally attending services himself. Although Schall remained an intimate adviser, after 1657 the emperor turned increasingly to Chan (Zen) Buddhism.

A kindly man, the emperor Shunzhi was strongly influenced by eunuch officials and Buddhist priests. His major accomplishment was to increase the number of Chinese serving in the Manchu government. His death was clouded by rumours that the death of a favourite consort had caused him to retire to a Buddhist monastery.

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The early Qing emperors were vigorous and forceful rulers. The first emperor, Fulin (reign name, Shunzhi), was put on the throne when he was a child of six sui (about five years in Western calculations). His reign (1644–61) was dominated by his uncle and regent, Dorgon, until Dorgon died in 1650. Because the Shunzhi emperor had died of smallpox, his...

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